I have a new handicraft project for you today! This time we're doing a nature edition. This is quite a simple handicraft but still has so many possibilities. And while drying flowers is as simple as pressing in a book, I'm sharing a different, modern approach using the microwave. 

 My daughter received a plain mask in a craft kit for her birthday. She finally decided she wanted to decorate it but wasn’t sure what she should do. Our wild flowers are in full bloom in such vibrant oranges and yellows. I suggested we dry some and then she could decorate her mask with those. 

>>Also, update, we recently made these beautiful pressed flower bookmarks with this same microwave method! 

You May Also Enjoy:

• Dried Flower Bookmark
• Other Handicrafts Series Projects
• How to Paint Nature Animals 
• Nature Scavenger Hunt

Now speaking of flower pressing, we have done the in the book for weeks as well as an actual flower press. However, last summer we discovered the technique of drying flowers in the microwave. Yep, the microwave. It is so quick AND the flower are amazingly more vibrant than when we have before dried them in books.

We actually still dry flowers in books for the beauty of finding it later unexpectedly, but microwave flower pressing is our new go to method. It’s very easy to do and requires things you already have in your kitchen. However, if you really want to invest and get fancy, you can find a microwave flower presser on Amazon. Maybe we’ll invest in one eventually, but for now our method works great. We did actually burn one flower, but I figured out that I just did it a little too long.

How to Press Flowers in the Microwave

and make a Flower mask

Supplies:

• Paper towels or tea towels
• Heavy cooking dishes
• Freshly picked flowers or for the crafts sake - you can buy some dried flowers
• Mask 
  
• Modge Podge

Step 1:

Place your flowers on two towels in the position you want. You may need to force the flowers to stay open before placing two towels on top.

Step 2:

Place heavy dish on top. Make sure all flowers are covered and flattened by dish. Place carefully in microwave

Step 3: Microwave Flowers

Microwave for 1 minute. Then take off cooking dish. Then microwave in 30 second intervals. Check after each one to see if they are dry yet. If you do it too long, it could burn the flowers, like I did. Take them out when they’re dried!

Step 4: Making the mask

Using modge podge, add some onto the mask first then gently place the flowers on. We did generous amounts of modge podge so the flowers could adhere well. After the modge podge has dried, add another coat on top.